My German Shepherd puppy has a pus-filled foot lump. What's wrong?

Hi, It looks to me as though Shadow may have a hygroma. This is a false bursa that develops over bony prominences, commonly the elbow, due to repeated trauma from pressure points while lying down on or hitting the elbows on hard surfaces. This repeated trauma creates an inflammatory response, which results in a dense-walled, fluid-filled cavity. Overtime, severe inflammation may develop, and ulceration, infection, even abscesses can form on the hygroma. To prevent this from getting worse, provide plenty of soft padding and soft bedding for Shadow to have to prevent more trauma to the area. In minor cases even elbow pads can be bought for dogs. For severe cases, surgeries can be performed to try to cosmetically fix the area after flushing, draining and repairing the areas. Hope this helps! -Dr. Gordon

There is no known cause to this disease but does seem to be a genetic (inherited) problem in German Shepherds. Surgical removal of the affected areas is typically the best option to get rid of it as stated in your pathology report. This is hard to do in the mouth though and recurrence is possible if not completely excised. Usually the lesions stop progressing as the dog gets older. Antibiotics may be needed if the lesions are infected though along with a different diet if it is painful for him to eat. Apoquel, food trials and topicals are unlikely to help with this disease process

It may be an ulcerated growth from a pressure sore if he seems to lay on that side more. If there is a discharge then it is likely infected and will need antibiotics. Your vet can sample some cells and see if it is a growth or a pressure sore and advise if surgery is recommended in that area

The bump you are seeing could be a mass, or it could be a skin lesion caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection, dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, or could be a combination of the above. I recommend making an appointment to have your dog seen by your veterinarian to help determine the cause of the bump you’ve noticed and to make sure it is treated appropriately. The vet will likely want to look at a sample from the area under the microscope to determine what is causing the bump and to provide treatment. . In the meantime, if he is licking the area, I recommend putting an e-collar/cone on him to help prevent licking and reduce the risk of infection.

Unfortunately the color on the picture is quite distorted. However if appears to be a possible abscess (infected pocket caused by trauma to the skin) or a large inflammatory response to a bug bite (spider perhaps). It is large however and looks irritated so I would recommend having your vet examine this area closely. Jasmine will likely need some medicaitons to get this to resolve well. Poor girl. I hope she gets this resolved soon. Best wishes and take care.

This sounds like an abscess or pocket of infection. She may have something in the paw that caused this or it may be from an injury. I recommend a veterinary exam and she will probably need antibiotics. They will check it to see if they can find the cause so it doesn’t happen again. As she’s young I would have this checked right away. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Luna.

I can’t tell exactly what this is with the picture alone but a draining wound on the foot warrants an examination by a veterinarian. It could be an infection/abscess and the location (being so close to the ground) can cause the wound to become dirty and soiled, making the infection worse. Or, there could be a mass present and if this is the case, it would need to be removed as soon as possible. In the meantime, until you can get to your vet, keep the area clean and dry and try to prevent Rex from licking the area. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.